Telegram-herald., 1887-12-11
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Tas sATYss 90 y sAaeaalsa-
a Native SsEl Dlxxinx Ios Feea s. uts SO
CisahiHx 1ssz sstinx 4 esafeats - Z. hasn-
g.rss Sktn -usaesly a. - staasl-
Lie "a the tsfDshs


Lie "a the tssssh.
r has besn reported as d. .Terens ssas-@ thaf
usany 4 tAs aat.v=s ga re noftaezsssgn
eaasf Il Aastrala are eaanibais. bat tais
charge h2s newer been hroasnt szaiast even
tse wagst q shs usst Ans1rslisa blacks.
they are a hlieoas race. ar3 about a. iow ia
tie sle q eis &, zatioa ~ if IS posshis e go.
To sc natlfs s.H digsing Ia the grouni
! fr aaleeits and boo-ilss Their psEles Tor two
kiads IT small borrowing Iaageuplais. ~
Hssh o. whisa they esteem very highlsl.
croGching on her hsgaehss and breaking
away tbs earth wit ioag sizes Ia cae band.
whiis with sAs uai.s and nRzeIs Il tae other
kaad Sic thro~s Is behii.d her, for al the
wor.d lie dos buIToaiag after q rat, is as
diszusting a sieht a. it Is possible fas man
and brother 70 bshold. unis~s IL be 70 zee
hs.F lord and master lying asleep and, II 10
had tbs opportunity Of getting greg, drunk
( in tie hut close bY, with perhaps TWO or
thrse cid hags a couple Il han starved kan
gsFv0 hounds and a mass Of s1lns, opossum
remains and filth. watch makes one turn
4 away with loathng from the scene
The huts which they build for themselves
/ are the most temporary and rougEest Kind of
/ constructions A few large branches leaning
/ together ia the shape ol a round hut. covered
/ sometimes VITA strips Il bark on the paper
bark, a tree that affords = tough and hbrous
covering, and only large enough for three or
foglr 70 lie down ia. and pretty close together,
| too such Is their idea Of "home"
The utmost limit OF their clothing in the
/ bush : a kangaroo skin cloak and "A band OF
hair which they tie around their heads %
/ keep their own swnrthy locks our OF their
/ eyes In the north aud where white men are
scarce they so entirely naked, and appear to
be without the sense Of shame. Every man
has the right 10 three or four wives and they
/ generally Rave them OF very various ages.
| An old gray haired man often has "A wife OF
/ II years old among Others. IL is, Of course,
4 rather stretch of language 20 call them
wives. for they have no kind OF marriage
ceremony, and are as often secured by alb
duction as by purchese. This way of win
! ming a wife is naturally conducive 10 ron
stant fighting. which forms large part Of
the interest OF their lives, the mere 50 as,
owing 20 the low value set upon women's
! lives, that sex which 10 Is really impossible
in this connection Ia speak of the fair sexj
is scarce
They eat any kind Of fcod they can lay
their hands upon meat of any kind. ~
course, and no matter how stale, the fat and
entralls quite uncooked and the remainder
scarcely more prepared Snakes, lizards,
frogs white ants, grnbs OF almost any kind
and tho bodies of some kinds Of moths they
| esteem highly. Tho women, who always
have To do anything in the way of carrying
that has 10 bs done, carry their babies
| tpickaninies) sung over their backs in a kan
| gsroo skin IL a woman has not got baby
to carry, or sometimes even IL she has, she
carries a bag made OF the same material. the
contents OF which constitute their only food
against future want IL is an awful thing to
see the contents of this bag. The writer has
seen two women, who had come up to an
Australian station TO beg for food, given the
remains Of a rice pudding in pudding dish
The one who carricd the bag took it down
OFF her shoulders and gravely began to un-
load it--on top, perhaps, two or three crusts
Of bread, green with mold. then piece OF
raw meat half putrefed: an old tobacco pipe
an opossums skin; some red clay little
greasy, black hair; and at last a very dirty
piece OF an old flannel shirt was reached
This, which was about a foot square, was
spread carefully on the ground The contents
| OF the pudding dish were scooped into il with
| a most filthy hand IL was neatly and gravely
| folded up and put back in the bottom of the
4
placed on top Of it.
And yet, though so degraded, they are far
from useless. these creatures They make
tolerahly good shepherds, can be taught TO
use their hands skillfully in any way that is
desired. and the good ones among them may
be trusted to do things that many n white
man would not do well and conscientiously
Settlers will send their horses long distances
in charge OF "blackfellow," and sheep, too,
are often intrusted to them 70 drive to out
| lying stations on down into the town to mar
ket.
Even those of them who have been brought
most near 20 a state Of civilization require
every now and then n month in n savage
state In the bush. and after working. perhaps
about the stable yard in clothes, and appear
ing quite domesticated for months together,
they viii suddenly inform their employer,
me walkaway morning." which is equiya-
lent 20 saying that they require a holiday.
And next morning they may be seen airily
clad in single kangaroo skin, their black
hair all stained red and clotted with horri-
ble mixture of red clay and grease called
''wilgic' and carrying small shield, couple
of spears and as many boomerang Tor keileys
rs they call them, setting out for month
In the woods with three OF four more Of their
tribe.
when natives are out in the bush It is nee
essary for them always 70 60 fully armed, Tor
almost every native OF another tribo is their
enemy 20 the death. and they are broken rr
into a great number of tribes IL n native OF
one tribe dies n member Of another tribe has
10 be kiiled This is the nearest thirg they
have % any religious code, and II is in vain
, that white men have tried TO stamp uit ths
savage custom Their principal weapon Of
, offruse is the spar, the bow and arrow being
, quite unknown among them.
They have no ideas, however rudiTneniary
n = creator or supreme being. and the oniy
Consciousness Of tho supernatural which they
| seem r. have is fear ~ evil spirits. thess
they appear 20 axorisse with dead people
who have bcan left unhuricsi They a;tributs
az illness to the Vaccinations OF these t,sa
spirits
They are very cruel 70 their women
| f'Gias- Is fhey call fbeml. making thssf
build the huts snd carry frewood. cnd 10 al
he vors there j. e. do. and speaTing Their
through the lez or cruelty beating thstn on
p The veTy slightest rrovocation.
Girl babies they often knl On The day oi
the writers arrival on one station eaesp aisf
caftl8 ranches are called "stai ions b. Ans
traiial. ha vs= shown a Httls LIscs picka
ninv. oriy week ODD. As c17Tireltv and
|. HloSs sfrnnxs looking inhuusar little sniasa
I T. vas TIE following morning some # a..
I gins. ~ao cane ID - che house esch raornins